Recreation Therapy Assistant

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Activity: In person outdoors - group of 2+

COVID Restrictions: Masks required

Duration: 30 minutes - 1 hour. Flexible!

Age: 18+

Skills: Having fun!

Who

CRi, Choice. Respect. independence. (formerly known as Community Residences, Inc.), is a community-based organization with a focused effort on providing people with developmental disabilities and/or mental health needs the resources, supports and services they need to live their lives with purpose, actively engaged in communities of their choosing. CRi’s mission fully supports a person’s ability to exercise control of their life’s choices, and to live in and contribute to communities of their choosing, as young adults through aging in place. We believe in serving individuals within the communities in which they live & supporting the individual’s choices and independence.

Why?

With COVID changing the way we all interact with the world, we’ve had to adjust our routines, implement coping mechanisms, and find new strategies to connect with our loved ones. CRi residents have had to do the same, but many don’t understand why. They can no longer go to their day-programs, see friends from other homes, or venture into the community for a fun outing. Staff have been working with residents to find ways to keep them learning and growing through games and projects that can be done at home - recreation therapy. The goal of recreation therapy is to motivate individuals to practice their fine motor skills and hone their cognitive function through tactile, visual, and auditory stimulation.

Project Description

CRi’s Recreation Therapy team puts together a calendar of activities that with different focus areas such as gross or fine motor skills, multisensory, or stress management. The activities seem like games, but really they are designed to help individuals practice control of their bodies and exercise their brains when it comes to everyday activities like doing laundry or emptying the dishwasher. A few examples of the projects are one minute movement exercise, tossing bean bags into buckets, or blowing bubbles.

Volunteers would be an extra pair of hands to walk individuals through the projects - like a teacher’s assistant to staff. They would be able to provide residents with more one on one attention and offer an extra level of fun and companionship as they go through the project.

How?

Don’t know how to get started? Don’t worry! We will work with you to find a home near you. The projects and supplies will be pre-identified so all you need to do is show up ready to have fun!